SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The California State University San Bernardino men's basketball team earned a thrilling 85-84 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday afternoon in a CCAA contest at Coussoulis Arena.

With the win, the Coyotes improve to 7-8 overall on the season, including 4-4 in the CCAA.

Neither team could miss in the early stages, as the teams combined for 50 points in just the first eight and a half minutes of the contest. Monterey Bay led by as many as nine points in the first six minutes at 19-10 and 22-13, but CSUSB chiseled away at the deficit and tied the score at 36-36 with 5:41 remaining after an old-fashioned 3-point play from redshirt senior Gavin Davis (Carson, Calif.). By halftime, the Coyotes had taken a narrow three-point lead at 47-44.

The guards got it done in the first half for CSUSB with Aidan Fowler (San Clemente, Calif.) and Zion Paleo (Diamond Bar, Calif.) scoring 12 and 11 points respectively. The Yotes shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the floor in the first half, including 4-of-10 (40.0 percent) from beyond the arc.

CSUSB briefly fell behind in the first few minutes of the second half, but responded to go ahead by seven at 67-60 with 12:15 to play. The Yotes would extend the lead to their largest margin of the day at eight points with a little over five and a half to play, but the Otters answered with an 8-0 run to level the score, but CSUSB never relinquished the lead. With the game tied at 81-81 with 22 seconds remaining, Paleo hit a jumper to put the Yotes up for good, and 13 seconds later a pair of Fowler free throws sealed CSUSB's win.

Fowler and Paleo combined for 45 of CSUSB's 85 points, with 23 and 22 points respectively, while Davis posted 14 points in the win.

Next up, CSUSB will head down the road to Cal Poly Pomona for a vital matchup with their conference rivals on Thursday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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